HealthTech 2026: Innovation, Prevention & the Future of Health

Rebecca is a corporate commercial lawyer specialising in the health sector.  Her clients include NHS organisations and other health and social care providers in the North West and nationally. Rebecca has been the operational lead lawyer on several major NHS transformation projects including mergers between NHS trusts / foundation trusts and the establishment of integrated care systems. Rebecca joined Browne Jacobson in 2019 and has previously worked in-house at NHS Improvement / Monitor, the Care Quality Commission and the Government Legal Department.  Rebecca was named “Lawyer of the Year” at the Made in Manchester Awards 2023.

Adam Dustagheer is CEO and Founder of Datnexa, an AI and digital transformation partner helping public-service organisations turn data and technology into practical, measurable outcomes. With more than 20 years’ experience across government, healthcare, regulation and the third sector, he specialises in responsible, people-centred AI adoption. Adam’s work focuses on applying AI to real-world challenges – supporting prevention, improving services and helping organisations build the confidence, capability and governance needed to scale innovation safely.

Shainoor (Shain) Khoja is a physiotherapist, social-impact entrepreneur and Founder & CEO of Thriving.ai. Drawing on more than 25 years working across health and social impact, alongside her own experience of caring for ageing family members, Shain is passionate about rethinking how we support people beyond traditional healthcare settings. Thriving.ai connects individuals, families, community organisations and care teams, using everyday health, wellbeing and home-based insights to support more proactive, personalised care. Her current focus is on how neighbourhood health can connect the signals, people and services around an individual to enable earlier support and healthier, more independent lives.

Paul Lynch is Director of Strategy and Health Equity at NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board, with a career focused on leading strategy development and implementation, system change, strategic commissioning, partnership development and public service reform.

He works across health, care and wider public sector organisations to drive collaborative approaches that improve outcomes for communities across Greater Manchester. Paul has led major programmes including neighbourhood health as part of Greater Manchester Live Well, prevention, integrated care, and system commissioning strategy.

Claire Williams is Head of Pharmacovigilance and Regulatory Services at NorthWest EHealth and an expert in real-world safety monitoring. Having worked with NWEH since the landmark Salford Lung Studies, Claire has helped develop technology-enabled pharmacovigilance across large pragmatic clinical trials, using routinely collected healthcare and trial data to identify potential safety events earlier. She works closely with technical and clinical teams to develop innovative approaches that move safety monitoring from reactive reporting towards proactive, real-time surveillance. Claire holds an MSc in Pharmacovigilance, chairs the Greater Manchester Central Research Ethics Committee, and is a passionate advocate for inclusive research and women’s health.

My group’s work is focused on the development and evaluation of imaging biomarkers for breast cancer risk prediction and early detection, and the science underpinning stratified screening. Our research encompasses a range of technologies both for breast density measurement and early detection of cancer. Recent projects include developing AI for risk prediction from standard and ultra-low-dose mammograms, evaluation of the impact of computer aided detection on reader behaviour and performance, reader variability studies, developing fair and explainable AI, predicting breast cancer subtypes, and the use of contrast enhanced mammography for evaluation of breast lesions. Our research is collaborative within a multidisciplinary network of scientists and clinicians in the UK and overseas.

Daniel Zamora is Programme Director at Health Innovation Manchester responsible for the delivery of large scale partnership triple-helix programmes in Greater Manchester and Innovator Support services.  He has previously led NHS Business Support Programmes, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund across Cheshire East and Greater Manchester, aimed at supporting Small and Medium Enterprises SMEs. Daniel worked for 25+ years in healthcare and spent his last 15 years in research an innovation positions within the NHS.

Daniel started his career with Alcon Laboratories working across marketing, sales, business development and customer services, leading teams to develop both the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device business units. Daniel moved to the UK in 2008 to study an MBA at Manchester Business School and since then has held several senior management positions supporting NHS and University organisations, such as North West e-Health, Trustech, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and currently Health Innovation Manchester. He is also committee member for the HIMSS UK and Ireland community.

Professor Amy Harwood is a registered AHCS Clinical Exercise Physiologist whose research and knowledge exchange activities focus on the development, evaluation and implementation of exercise and other therapeutic interventions for clinical populations. Her work has a particular emphasis on improving outcomes for people living with peripheral artery disease, with interests spanning rehabilitation, physical activity promotion, vascular health and the translation of evidence into clinical practice. Through collaborative research with healthcare providers, industry and patient groups, she is committed to advancing patient-centred approaches that improve health, function and quality of life.

Azra Zia is the Health Inclusion and Community Engagement Manager at Prevent Breast Cancer, working to improve breast health equity for women from ethnically diverse and socially disadvantaged communities across Greater Manchester. Working with NHS partners and trusted grassroots organisations, she develops culturally relevant approaches to raising awareness of breast cancer prevention and early diagnosis. Azra believes communities are not “hard to reach” but often under-served by traditional health messaging. She is passionate about ensuring women have the information and support needed to make informed decisions about their breast health and welcomes neighbourhood solutions that improve access and build trust.

Head of Innovation – Bruntwood SciTech – Development of the life sciences, digital and technology ecosystem across the Bruntwood SciTech portfolio in the North West.

 Applying my experiences gained from>20 years across pharmaceutical drug discovery and development. My mission is to drive the success of companies across the Bruntwood SciTech portfolio by ensuring the physical spaces, connections and events encourage growth, and reducing the barriers for start ups to take great ideas into action.

Dr Anthony Wilson is a consultant of anesthesia and critical care medicine at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT). He is the Chief Medical Information Officer (Research and Innovation) at MFT where he champions the use of health data  and the adoption of innovative technology to improve patient care and outcomes. His personal research interests focus on the use of wearable vital signs sensors in hospitals and he is the co-lead of MFT’s wearables laboratory.

Amy Wild is Founder of Silvia Health, a structured triage support platform for menopause care built around NICE NG23. Silvia helps GP practices, private clinics and pharmacies run consistent menopause services, giving clinicians the full picture before the consultation and following each woman over time. Amy started Silvia after her own experience of poor perimenopause care. She brings a background in commercial leadership, including CCO at Northcoders through its AIM listing and co-founding Basecamp. Her focus is making good menopause care consistent and easy to access, wherever a woman asks for help.

Sim leads the GMC Life Sciences Fund By PXN Ventures in partnership with Bruntwood SciTech, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Enterprise Cheshire + Warrington. The aim of the fund is to support life sciences businesses based in Greater Manchester and Cheshire or those who are committed to scaling here, with leading scale-ups such as SiSU Health, Silveray, CareLoop and Re:course AI making up the fund’s portfolio. With around two decades of experience in financial services across banking, funds and real estate, Sim works closely with founders and research institutions to back innovations with strong commercial potential. Sim’s leadership has helped establish PXN as a leading investor among the North’s life sciences ecosystem.

Professor Deborah James (BSc, MA, PhD, SLT) is Professor of Educational Psychology and Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Health and Social Care at Manchester Metropolitan University and Special Advisor for Health and Social Care to the Institute for Children’s Futures. She leads the health and social care strategy at Manchester Met and works with key partners to deliver Manchester Met’s mission to reduce health inequity for families and communities.